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Meveraa
The God of Entropy __FORCETOC__ Also called: The Scarlet Empress, The Breathless Divinity Deific Rank: Greater Deity Symbol: A scarlet crown on an ebon heart Home Plane: Thuleron, the Bottomless Boneyard Alignment:'' Lawful Evil'' Portfolio: Undeath, eternity, stasis, immortality Worshipers: Necromancers, intelligent undead, tyrants Cleric Alignments: LE, NE Domains: Death, Law, Nobility Favored Weapon: The Empress' Forebearance (khopesh) Meveraa (Meh-veh-rah) is the patron goddess of intelligent undead, with liches and vampires being her particular favorites. She is the emblem and inspiration of those who wish to remain unchanging and unyielding to time, particularly those who wish to use their eternity to bring stability and order. She is, in her own icy and steel-eyed way, a loving, benevolent tyrant - but she is nonetheless a tyrant, brooking no challenge to her sovereignty. Those who obey her receive her gifts; those who defy her learn the meaning of eternal torment. Meveraa is the second-youngest of the Vazur, and jealous of her dark and somber realm. She reaches forth from the eternal, unchanging night of Thuleron to whisper breathless wisdom to tyrants who fear death, showing them the way to an unending existence in her court. Her power is immense, one of the few Vazur who can directly match the might of an Anur, though this power is entirely disproportionate to the size of her faith, which strongly limits her ability to spread stasis and breathless eternity across Arc Arjet. History and Relationships The Scarlet Empress was once a pleroma aeon, a vastly powerful neutral outsider roaming the planes maintaining the balance of reality. However, she delved deep into the unending "linkage realm," the plane called Acheron, in search of the secret to perfect stability and peace. She emerged somehow an unholy fusion of outsider and undeath, her body resembling the nightly heavens mostly hidden beneath beautiful but sinister burial bindings of scarlet silk and woven adamantine wire. Her face is concealed behind a flawless black glass mask, but her eyes blaze like crimson suns. Her impossibly long hair, the color of blood, is bound by an ornate crown of umbrite, rubies and adamantine. Wherever she went, she brought the sublime stillness of eternal stasis with her, and it was not long before intelligent undead and powerful necromancers began to entreat her with prayers. Since the time of the Sun Kingdom, she has been called Meveraa, Shevrandi for "she does not diminish." Meveraa speaks in a soft, seductive whisper, but there is a note of will-crushing authority in her words. The very air goes still and cold when her presence draws near, and even her avatars radiate a bone-searing chill. Meveraa is seen as a dark reflection of Kanaste, bringing stasis instead of creation; indeed the two loathe each other, and are the antithesis of one another - life and unlife. She is also the hated enemy of Ghette, for her interference in the natural cycle of birth and death. Bornaon, of course, utterly despises her and all her creations, and cursed them to wilt and burn in his light, particularly her chief favorites, vampires - and the feeling is quite mutual, with the Breathless Divinity taking a genuine pleasure in corrupting the hearts of Fireheart's stalwarts whenever she can. Darja dislikes her tendency to lead magic-users to becoming liches, but otherwise cares very little about the Scarlet Empress. The Breathless Divinity does not pay the slightest heed to the ever-chaotic Rekmaa, but the Queen Clad In Rage would happily rend her limb from limb if the opportunity ever presented itself - simply because she hates anything static. Even peaceful Veymaa shows a marked detestation for Meveraa; for her part, the Vazur seems to have a strange fascination with the Gentle King. However, no god hates Meveraa more than Aanelustre, and there is no entity, divine or otherwise, who stirs more frigid fury in the heart of the Scarlet Empress. The time-god cannot tolerate anyone daring to remove themselves from the Wheel of Fate, and the Many-Formed holds the Scarlet Empress accountable for every second stolen by her undying court. The constant attempts to snare the undead in the weave of time are personal affronts to everything that Meveraa holds dear, and the Breathless Divinity longs to bring stony silence to the ever-changing Endless Serpent. Dogma Time is an illusion - wake yourself from it. The right of the ruler is absolute and divine; rule all beneath heaven. A beating heart is a shackle, the tomb is an affront - rise above both. Clergy and Temples Temples of Meveraa are rare, and typically hidden in dark places, sometimes in crypts where undead can hide amongst the interred. They are sepulchural but elegant affairs, predominately decorated in crimson. Her clergy wear black and scarlet robes, and typically go masked. Enigmatic symbols graven upon these masks indicate the rank of the priest. Meveraa's antipaladins, the Knights of the Sepulcher, are amongst the most feared warriors known. The mightiest of these, having become an undying champion, is known only as "Her Harvester," and is the chief implement of her fury upon mortals. Meveraa is known to occasionally take mortals as lovers; they invariably become Oracles of Bones after a night with the Empress, and all receive the wasting curse in the process, their bodies permanently broken by her frozen touch. She doesn't seem to care much what they do with themselves afterwards - though she is known to show them particular favor if they choose to serve her faith.